Click in the Image Type field, and then click on the option from the list that best describes the image.

If the image is normal and has information to be indexed, select Normal. Then press Tab or Enter.

If the image is blank, is an exact duplicate of a previous image in the same batch, or is unreadable, select the corresponding option from the list. If the image does not contain a name, with at least a surname or an event date, select No Extractable Data Image. Press Tab or Enter, and, on the warning message, click Yes. Continue to the next image. If this is the last image of the batch, submit the batch.

Index only the surname of the principal (the person whose naturalization it is).

The surname was often written before the given names. Be sure to type the parts of the name in the correct fields on the indexing screen. If you cannot determine if a name is a given name or a surname, index it in the Given Names field.

If an individual’s surname was listed on the naturalization card with aliases or various spellings, include all variants, separating each with the word Or.

Name variations were often noted at the bottom of naturalization records, with the name variation written above the signature of the principal and prefaced by a notation such as "Name Changed From." Click here for an example. Be sure to examine the record carefully for name variations, and index all name variations in the proper name fields.

For example, if a surname was written as "Broski, Browzowski, or Brzozowski," you would index Broski Or Browzowski Or Brzozowski in this field.

Do not include titles or terms, such as Miss, Mrs, Sr, Jr, or Mr, with the name. Do not include punctuation, except hyphens and apostrophes when they were written on the document as part of the name. Do not expand abbreviations. Type what you see in the document.

If the surname was not recorded or was written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank.

Index only the given names of the principal (the person whose naturalization card it is).

The given names were usually written after the surname. Be sure to type the parts of the name in the correct fields on the indexing screen. If you cannot determine if a name is a given name or a surname, index it in this field.

If an individual’s name was listed on the naturalization card with aliases or various spellings, include all variants, separating each with the word Or.

Name variations were often noted at the bottom of naturalization records, with the name variation written above the signature of the principal and prefaced by a notation such as "Name Changed From." Click here for an example. Be sure to examine the record carefully for name variations, and index all name variations in the proper name fields.

For example, if a name was written as "George" at the top of the record, and it was noted that the name was changed from "Georgios," you would index George Or Georgios in this field.

Do not include titles or terms, such as Miss, Mrs, Sr, Jr, or Mr, with the name. If a name was abbreviated, type it as it was written on the document. Do not type a period after the abbreviation. Do not include punctuation, except hyphens and apostrophes when they were written on the document as part of the name.

If given names were not recorded or were written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank.

Type the birth year. If only a two-digit number was recorded, you may be able to determine the four-digit year from other data on the image. If you cannot determine the full four-digit year, type what was written on the record.

If the age was recorded but not the birth year, do not index the age in this field, and do not calculate a birth year based on the age that was recorded.

If the birth year was not recorded or was written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Tab to skip this field.

Type the locality, nationality, or race written in the field for the former nationality.

Occasionally, "See other side" was written in the former nationality field. To index this field, go to the next image (click the View menu, and click Show Previous or Next image; be sure that Next Image is selected). Then index the nationality that was written on the next image (the back of the naturalization index card).

Type the term or terms as they were written. Do not correct misspellings or expand abbreviations. Do not index names or titles, such as King, Queen, Emperor, Victoria, or George, with the nationality. Do not index punctuation, except hyphens and apostrophes when they were written on the document as part of the name. (Note that this instruction is different from the standard instruction in the Basic Indexing Guidelines and most other indexing projects.)

If no locality, nationality, or race was recorded in the field for place of birth or nationality, press Tab to skip this field.

Type the most recent year that was written on the record, but DO NOT index the birth year in this field.

This collection is from 1930 to 1988. If only a two-digit number was recorded, you should be able to type 19 as the first two digits of the four-digit year, unless other data on the image indicates otherwise.

If multiple years were recorded on the naturalization card, index the most recent year in this field.

If an event year was not recorded or was written as a variation of the word "unknown," press Ctrl+B to mark this field as blank.